


It's Called Luck, and it's Gonna Run Out

by raccoon69



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Last of Us (Video Games) Setting, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Basically TLOU but the infected are called titans, F/F, F/M, M/M, Mild Gore, This is loosely based on a few tiktoks I watched, technically eren is the mc but this was mostly an excuse to push my jeankasa agenda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:21:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25902001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raccoon69/pseuds/raccoon69
Summary: Twenty-four years after the outbreak of "Titanous" fungus, the surviving people of the world hold themselves up in Quarantine zones scattered across the nation. A young Eren finds his QZ suddenly overrun with the infected people known as titans, losing his mother and igniting his hate for said titans.Years later, as a brand new solider, something in stirs in Eren's memories. He finds himself needing to get to the bottom of why there seem to be gaps in his childhood. His own quest sends all of his friends on journeys of their own as they attempt to rescue him, and not everyone can make it back to the QZ in time.
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Eren Yeager, Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Mentions of past Jean/Marco, Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman/Jean Kirstein, Sasha Blouse/Connie Springer
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	1. I. "Since That Day"

**Author's Note:**

> The infected are called "Titans" mostly so it fits with Attack on Titan, but in the story it's because the infection causes their bodies to bloat (and look larger) and they have the "strength of a titan". For the sake of somewhat accurate climate, this takes place in the southeast of the US because that's all I know but all of the town/QZ names are from AOT.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiya! so I forgot I wrote this and after reading it again, I wanna pick it back up with a few tweeks. thank you for reading <3

The crunch of bone, the smell of blood, her parents’ screams, it never went away. She couldn’t even escape it in her dreams. She knew it was the same for everyone who survived the Maria QZ, and the same for any of the soldiers too. It didn’t make her feel any better about her own problems, though. Despite her nightmares keeping her up most of the night, Mikasa woke up bright and early. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and began getting dressed as quickly as possible. Her bunkmate, Annie, hadn’t woken up yet so she tried to be as quiet as possible when leaving the room. Knowing Annie, she would probably complain about something or other anyways. Giving herself a final once-over in her reflection in the window, Mikasa left the room in search of Eren. 

“Eren! Eren, get up!” Mikasa’s fist hit the wooden door in three sharp bursts. They had to get down to breakfast so they could start their daily chores for captain Levi. While Eren might have always been the first to complain- and the first to receive a reprimanding slap across the face from said captain- he wasn’t one to actually skip work. She knocked again; this time louder. Unluckily for her, it was Eren’s bunkmate, Jean, who answered the door. 

“Mikasa! What a pleasure. What can I do for ‘ya, doll?” Mikasa fought back a glare at the slimy smirk on the man’s face. He had been flirting with her almost non-stop since their first day as cadets. 

“I’m looking for Eren, is he still sleeping? We’ve got chores today,” Jean’s smirk fell, and he shook his head, “No, I thought he was already down at breakfast with you or Armin. I guess try down there or the training yard. That’s where I’d guess. Unless you want to stay here and wait for him to get back maybe?” This time Mikasa did nothing to hide the daggers in her eyes. Out of habit, her hand drifted up to the scarf wrapped around her neck. Jean’s eyes followed the motion. 

“No thank you. If you see him, send him my way,” She said as she turned away toward the training yard. She barely made it halfway down the hall before Jean’s voice called out to her again. Looking over her shoulder, she watched him run to catch up with her with a piece of paper in his hand. He handed it over to her without meeting her gaze. Mikasa unfolded it quickly, her eyes widening as she read the note: 

‘Jean, if you find this then give it to Mikasa or Armin. 

I can’t stop the nightmares of that day. I know there’s more to the story than I can remember. I have to go back home to find out the truth. I’m sorry you have to find out in a stupid note, but I couldn’t risk you trying to stop me. I promise I’ll be back soon. Please don’t follow me. I can protect myself; you don’t have to baby me this time, Mikasa. And Armin- I know what I’m doing. Don’t feed into Mikasa’s anger. If I find out the truth, I’ll be free. - Eren’ 

“Fuck, this idiot- I think he meant to leave it on his bed but it got knocked off, I didn’t see it ‘til now. The fucker left, Mikasa! He took off!” Jean rubbed his temples in an attepmt to ward off an oncoming headache. He sighed, “What do we do? We can’t just go after him,” Mikasa shook her head, “No, we’ll tell the captain like we’re supposed to. We’ll go out with a search party and bring him home before-” she choked on her words and somehow sunk deeper into her scarf, “-before he does something stupid,” Jean mumbled something under his breath along the lines of, ‘too late for that’ and shook his head in disappointment. How Mikasa could spend every waking moment worried about Eren without losing her mind completely, he would never know. 

The two made their way to the captain’s office without another word. Mikasa’s face had returned to its usual blank slate, but her posture was tense and her pace was a little faster than normal. Her fist hit the office door hard enough to give her splinters. Jean placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and gave her a toothy grin in an attempt to reassure her. She didn’t even glance at him. 

“Hey, he can’t be far. He might not even be out of the QZ yet. We’ll get him, Mikasa,” She just shook his hand off and stared at the office door as Levi opened it. The captain looked unamused at the unscheduled interruption but let the pair into his office anyways. Jean let Mikasa explain what had happened as he handed Levi the actual note. 

“So, your little boyfriend ran off, and now you feel like you gotta go save him, is that right?” The captain’s expression looked beyond bored. The blush that dusted Mikasa’s cheeks caught Jean’s eye, but Levi seemed to pay no mind. She fumbled over her reply, “I- Sir, I’m worried about him. Let us form a search party and go out to find him. You can punish him to whatever extent when he gets back, we can’t just let him die out there! Just-” He cut her off with a wave of his hand. 

“No. I’m not sending children out to go rescue a child,” Mikasa opened her mouth to protest but the captain held up a finger to shush her, “I’ll take a small team of elites and go get the brat while you stay put. There’s no need to put more kids’ lives at stake,” 

“Sir, with all due respect I can handle myself. Both me and Jean have been out of the QZ before. We’re almost full members of the Survey Corps. We can go save Eren. I know where he’s going. I can help!” Mikasa’s voice strained with worry. The emotion in her voice was foreign. It made Jean uneasy. 

“If you have information then let us know. But you two, and all your friends, are staying here at base. That’s my final decision, do not test me or we’ll leave the twit out there to learn his lesson the way he ought to,” Levi got up and made his way to the door, opening it and gesturing the teens out. “Ackerman, you are not excused from chores today. And you- Kirstein, right? You’ll take over Jaeger’s jobs for today and until he gets back. No out, please,” Mikasa opened her mouth as if to object again but she held her tongue. Instead, she pulled her scarf up above her lips and fixed her jacket. If Levi saw the death glare she gave him on her way out, he didn’t comment on it. 

Once back out in the hallway, Jean let out a groan and an intense eyeroll he’d been holding in. As much as respected the seasoned captain, he couldn’t stand the way he talked down to everyone. “Oh, come on! That asshole throws a fit and runs away and I gotta do his work! God, when that fucker gets back, I’m gonna punch his teeth in! After captain Levi gets to him that is. Mikasa, how are you not completely losing it over this kid’s stupidity?” He turned to her just in time to watch a tear fall down her cheek before she wiped it away with her scarf. Feeling his heart sink, Jean tried to apologize. 

“Jean, chores start after breakfast. I’ll see you then, ok? We’ve got a lot to do today,” She turned down the hall and sped back towards her dorm without a second glance. Jean watched her turn into her hallway and thought about going after her before giving up and heading towards the mess hall in defeat.


	2. II. "The Other Side of the Wall"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I should say that this story follows the groups independently and many things are happening at once. I'll try to be a little more conscious about including what days things are happening.

Day One.

It was surprisingly easy to leave the cadet compound unnoticed. So much so that Eren had to wonder if this wasn’t some sort of set up to get him kicked out of the Survey Corps once and for all. The thought nagged at his mind as he approached the last fence at the boundry of the quarantine zone, but he quickly decided his mission was more important than the slim chance of this being a prank. Fortunately, there was no sudden spotlight or anyone jumping out of the bushes to yell “Gotcha!” at him. Eren let out a tense breath he didn’t know he was holding and quickly scaled the fence. 

There was about four hours left until the sun came up and the titans got more active. Eren was sure he’d be nearly halfway to the Maria QZ before then, and when morning did come, he had his gun and a full backpack of ammo to keep himself safe. Briefly, he wished he had managed to grab a knife too, but he knew that might have risen too much suspicion. At least Mikasa’s suspicion, that is. Nothing got past her. Eren wondered how he even managed to leave without Mikasa sensing him or something, she always seemed to know his plans even before he did. He shook the thought out of his head; he had somewhere to be. Taking out his makeshift map, Eren started his trek home. 

\-- 

Eren watched the sunrise over the tops of the dilapidated old city’s tallest buildings. His feet ached with the milage, and guilt started to weigh him down from the pit in his stomach. The titans would start getting more active soon, he couldn’t afford to keep dragging his feet like this. His heart felt heavy in his chest. What would Mikasa think? And Armin? They would be getting up soon to get ready for the day. That is if they weren’t already up. They’d find his note soon. Or maybe Jean would find it and toss it in the trash like the jackass he was. Maybe he would let Mikasa think Eren was dead so he could swoop in and take advantage of her while she was upset. That slimy freak! That sounded exactly like something that good-for-nothing, sleezy, horse-faced idiot would do. God, Eren wanted to bash his face in, he wanted to- Eren's foot made contact with something soft and it sent him tumbling straight to the pavement, hard. 

Embarrassed, he cursed himself for being so lost in thought. Eren put his hand out to pull himself up, but it sunk into the thing he had tripped on in the first place. The stench of blood hit him like a truck, flooding his senses and he scrambled away from the body. He wiped his hand frantically on the pavement in a weak attempt to quickly remove himself of the smell. Once it was mostly off, he moved to examine the body. 

It was an older man in plain clothes, so not a soldier like himself. The entire middle of the man had been ripped open, his guts torn from their places and on the concrete beside him. Eren fought back the bile rising in his throat. ‘How did someone get all the way out here?’ he thought. The body looked pretty fresh. Eren decided it was best to just keep moving before the Titans came back to finish their meal. He took out his gun and went on his way without a second glance at the body. Suddenly the gravity of his situation hit him as the anger that usually fueled him gave way to fear. Every little noise set him on edge. 

Eren managed to make it a few more hours without seeing any Titans. He was out of the city now and into an old neighborhood that had seen better days. Most of the doors had been ripped off and now laid in overgrown yards. The windows looked like they had been smashed in and boarded up several times. Once upon a time, this place had probably been a safe place. Eren remembered his mom telling him how after the initial outbreak, people had been moved out of the cities and into makeshift “Safe Zones” like these neighborhoods. Two or three families would be forced to stay in one house and share rations meant for as little as two people. He remembered how his mom spoke of the chaos that this created. People turned on each other, they looted and killed just for supplies. His mom said she would’ve done it if he had been alive and with her: “There’s no greater motivator than a hungry baby,” she had said. 

It was nearing noon, and Eren was getting hungry. The first house he searched was picked clean, as was the second and the third. He found a few bandages next to a half-turned girl. She held an empty pistol in one hand and a picture in the other. Eren recognized it as a polaroid, like the kind his mom had. His eyes met the dead girl’s gaze and he noticed the bullet wound on the side of her head. He decided it was best not to dwell on it and let her rest. 

Eventually Eren managed to find an old box of crackers in a drawer of one of the houses, and he took his pack off and sat himself down to enjoy his stale “lunch” and lukewarm bottle of water he packed. The front steps he had sat down on were uneven and had roots forcing themselves up from the cracks in the concrete. It was better than the musty house, he thought. Eren had gotten about halfway through his box of crackers before he saw the first Titan. It hadn’t seen him yet, so it was just slowly shambling in the yard down the street. He couldn’t help but notice that it’s hands and face were covered in fresh blood. Eren prayed it was that of an animal. 

He drew his gun and started backing into the house. If he could just get in, he could make his way out the back and avoid confronting the Titan all together. If he shot, he would have to deal with the others that were attracted to the sound. It was too far to sneak up on, too. Just as he felt safe enough in the entryway of the house, his gun hit the frame with what he would swear was the loudest ‘clink’ he had ever heard. Just like that, the Titan’s head whipped up at him at inhume speed. It barreled toward him with that signature jarring Titan cantor. Eren fired without thinking, the bullet hitting the creature square in the neck, plunging through and severing its spinal cord. His military training paid off this time. 

The Titan dropped to the pavement with a sickening ‘thud’. Eren’s heart was racing. Others would’ve heard that, he didn’t have much time. Sure enough, he watched a few shamble out of other houses and a few rounded the street corner. They came at him at an alarming pace. Breaking his stupor, he raced to the back of the house. When the sliding glass door wouldn’t budge, he shattered it with the grip of his gun and forced himself through. The glass dug into his back, but he paid it no mind. 

Eren could hear the Titans in the house now. His only option was to scale the splintered fence and hope for the best on the other side. He had one foot over, he was so close he could taste it. That’s when he felt it: the sick, wet heat of the Titan’s mouth as it closed around his shin. Pure terror and adrenaline flowed through his veins like nothing he had ever felt before. His leg flailed wildly and he fired into the horde at random. He swung himself the rest of the way over the fence and dropped into the grass. Eren ran and ran until he could no longer hear the Titans and the pain in his leg began to be too much to bear. He collapsed in the middle of the overgrown street. He couldn’t help the hot tears that began to form and slide down his cheeks. And when the silent tears turned into full sobs, Eren was powerless to stop those too. He’d been bitten. His first real encounter with those things and he’d lost. What was all that training even for? 

No, no. It must have been a trick of his mind. He must have hit it on something and just though it was the Titan’s bite. There was no way that after all that training that he could fail- it just didn’t make sense. Eren was sure that if he lifted up his pant leg, he would find some other injury. The glass shards, maybe. But not a bite. It couldn’t be. 

Instead, he was faced with the truth in the form of a sickening, bright red bite mark. All at once, Eren’s heart sank to the floor and his lunch made its way back up in waves. Once his stomach was emptied beside him, he made up his mind. He wouldn’t be one of those things. He knew from Hange’s experiments that he had somewhere between five and eight hours before the infection took hold of him. Eren had time to lock himself away and end it. He picked himself up and limped into the gas station down the road. Once inside, he locked himself inside the bathroom and pushed the trashcan again the door to give himself some sort of security. He didn’t have his pack anymore, so there was no way to write a note to anyone who found him. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes as Eren thought about how he wouldn’t get to say goodbye to his friends. He hoped that if they ever found him, they’d understand. Especially Mikasa. Knowing her, she’d blame herself. She’d always been protecting him, since the day he saved her. Now he had spent not even one day away from her and he was already dead. 

“Fuck!” Eren yelled and let his head slam into the tiled wall behind him. The bite on his leg was beginning to sting and swell. It was now or never; he couldn’t sit back and watch himself turn into a monster. With trembling hands, he lifted his gun to his head. His sweaty finger squeezed the trigger. He took a deep breath, “One, two, three!” 

CLICK! Eren’s eyes shot open. It was empty?! Of course it was, he had fired into the horde without a second thought. He’s wasted every bullet trying to get away from the Titans. How could he have forgotten? Real panic began to set in as Eren realized he was going to turn now. There was no escape route, no easy way out. He was going to end up being another mindless eating machine that would give the next traveler to open this bathroom a nasty surprise. He was going to end up being the very thing he hated the most. 

Sobs wracked Eren’s body. He felt so weak, so powerless. He wanted his mom, he wanted to see Mikasa and Armin again, hell he even wanted to see Jean again. He didn’t want to die alone. His own stupidity got him into this mess. It was his own fault, just like everything else. Soon, his exhaustion got the better of him and sleep overtook him quickly. He was glad he didn’t have to feel himself die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops :)


	3. III. "Friends"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short chapter to get me back into the flow of writing. sorry for abandoning this for like 4 months ;p

Levi leaned back on the desk and took a sip of his tea as he finished explaining the situation. “So, let me get this straight- a cadet ran away, and now we gotta go get him or his girlfriend is gonna pitch a fit?” Hange piped up. Erwin scoffed and crossed his arms from where he sat on the opposite side of the room. Levi nodded, “He’s headed to the old Maria QZ, Shinganshina district,” 

Hange looked exasperated. “You mean the one that was breeched five years ago? It’s gotta be completely overrun with titans by now. Why would he go there of all places?” 

Erwin rose from his seat and made his way to the other two squad leaders, “If I’m not mistaken, him and two other cadets are from there. They were there the day it fell; they were among the few that made it out, he wrote about wanting to go home, isn’t that right?” He looked to Levi for confirmation. 

Levi nodded again, “Yup, the son-of-a-bitch is a little homesick. He left a note to his girlfriend or whatever, saying he ‘Had to find out the truth’ or some shit. Cadet Ackerman is very incessant that we go get him and bring him back before he dies like an idiot,” 

“He was our responsibility; I do think it’s up to us to at least look for the boy. Levi, make the arrangements. We’ll head out tomorrow morning, what do you think?” Erwin said. Hange’s mouth gaped open in disbelief. 

“I think there’s something wrong with your head. But sure, let’s go rescue this shit-for-brains,” 

\-- 

Almost two weeks had passed since the scouts had gone to find Eren. While sensitive missions like this could take time, the unease was palpable. The dining hall was lit only by the flickering light of a candle. The hushed whispers of Mikasa, Sasha, and Connie filled the empty space. Finally, Armin walked in, quietly tugging Jean along with him. The group quietly gathered around the candle and a thick blanket of awkward silence fell across the group. 

It was Sasha who broke the tension, “Something tells me you didn’t call us here for a midnight snack, Mikasa. So, what’s up? This is about Eren going missing, isn’t it?” She questioned. Mikasa met her gaze, “Yeah, it is. I’m going to go get him. The captain and his squad have been gone for too long. It’s only about three or four days' worth of travelling away and I’m afraid-” She choked and took a moment to gather herself, “I’m afraid if we wait any longer, he’ll make it back to the Maria QZ. If he gets in, there’s no way he’s getting out. I’ve got to get him home. I hate to have to ask this of you guys but... I need your help,” 

“We know this is a lot to ask. We can’t do it without you guys, and I hate that I have to-” Armin was cut off by a laugh from the doorway. Fear shot through the groups’ hearts at the thought of their meeting being discovered, but the anxiety subsided as Ymir walked into the candlelight with Historia in tow. 

She huffed out, “So he was homesick! I knew it! Now you’re askin’ these pansies to go rescue your little princess?” Ymir let out another cackle and Historia kicked her in the shin. She didn’t miss the side-eye Mikasa gave her. Historia chimed in, “I know you didn’t invite me, but I’d love to help. Eren’s my friend too, you know. The more guns we have out there the better chance we have of getting all of us back safe,” She smiled. 

“Yeah!” Sasha piped in, “He’s our friend too! Count me and Connie in too! And I’m sure Jean-boy over there would do anything you tell him to, isn’t that right Jeanie?” She sent the boy in question a teasing wink and he visibly fought the urge to reach across the table and smack her then and there. If Mikasa saw the blush that dusted his cheeks, she didn’t comment on it. Instead, she let out a sigh of relief. 

“Fine, if my Historia’s going then I’m going too. If she dies out there all alone, I can’t marry her, now can I?” Ymir let out another loud laugh and pulled the small blonde into an affectionate headlock. Armin paid no mind to her shenanigans, opting to explain his plan instead. Even since Eren had hopped the fence, security had been tighter than ever. They’d have to be smart not only about their plans outside of the QZ, but about their escape too. They planned to meet back at the dining hall the next night after lights out. Sasha was in charge of stocking up provisions for the group, seeing as she knew how to get into the kitchen without being seen. Mikasa would sneak into the armory and grab as many guns as she could get her hands on. Everyone had to pick up as much medical supplies or bandages as they could. Armin would get the bolt cutters to get them out of the gate. 

They all nodded in agreement, anticipation flooding their veins. As they all laid down that night no one could help the sinking dread they felt. All of them had been outside of their QZ before on scouting missions, but no one had been so far out on their own. Mikasa had it the worst of all of them. Her usual nightmares worsened. Her mind flooded with images of Eren- his body, overtaken with fungus and rotting away. His teeth, sinking into her flesh, begging her to join him in his vegetative state.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first published fic, and I know I'm not the most skilled writer. I hope at least some enjoy it! Creative criticism is always welcome.


End file.
